You can check out their store at: Zombie-head.com. The only thing I wish they made that they dont at this point is ornaments! I could imagine some incredibly crazy looking elf and santa ornaments being a hit!

And now enough of my ramblings, on with the interview!

I always like to start off with the basics, please state your name, age, favorite power ranger, the usual!

My name is Krystal Osborne i am 25 years old (eeek!) and i have always hated the power rangers.

So when did you start Zombie Head and what was the inspiration behind it?

Istarted about 2006, and i was just putzin around with gift ideas, it was around x-mas and i was broke. so i started making jewelry that i would want to get as a present or that I would want to ware and then friends and friends of friends started wanting them and I enjoyed making them so much i started selling them. My online presence selling zombie heads started in 2007.

I was reading that each piece is individually made, which is incredible i must add, but how long does it take you to finish a piece?

I get asked this a lot and to tell you the truth i really don’t know. i try to make at least 8 heads to bake all at once. but sometimes i don’t start painting them right away. It depends on if I’m still in a mood to sculpt. so like i said its hard to really say but i know its collectively a few hours per piece.

Obviously most of your pieces deal with zombies, monsters, ghoulies, etc. So when did the fascination with horror start?

Oh man when i was very young. iv just always been interested in things like ghost stories and anything that scared me. my love of zombies came when i watched return of the living dead at age 5. i was all tough watching it but later that night i flipped out and i just knew zombies were going to burst into my bed room and eat me. after that i couldn’t get enough. my mom use to take me to the library to watch old Vincent price films on a projector and gave me old horror movies in my Easter basket. it just was non stop, and still is.

What are most of your pieces made of and can you give us a quick walk through on how your pieces come to life?

Well…. i gather up all my tools, sit down with about a ping pong ball size of clay (super sculpey) make my general shape, then go for the eyes, then nose if there is any, then build up teeth then the rest of the mouth and then just really play around with it until it looks the way i think it should. and trust me sometime i think oh man this one is going to be sooooo nasty. then when i go to paint it, it doesn’t paint well at all. sometimes if there is too much detail, the detail gets lost later with the paint.

Have any of your pieces made it into any horror mags or movies?

Yes actually. my little monsters have been in a few magazines, shriek freak, synergy (Australian) and the folks at girls and corpses contacted me and said they thought my stuff would go great in their mag and we got a great full page ad. as far as movies go i’ve done make up for a few indie horror films.

You must be a huge horror movie fan, what are some of your favorite flicks?

Wow … its really hard to pick ultimate favorites but i guess the ones that impacted me the most would have to be Tom Savini’s version of night of the living dead. i think the zombies in that film by far are the most frighting and realistic and return of the living dead. those have always had a hold on me. but the list could go on and on.

So what can we expect to see from Zombie Head in 2010?

Well i would eventually like to make rings. I have a friend of ours who is a great silver smith and i’d like him to set the heads as he would set a stone. also my artwork on T shirts would be awesome.

Any last minute shout outs or info you would like to touch on?

Well id like to say thanks for all of our awesome friends and customers that have helped get the word out. and thanks to my boyfriend who is really the brains of this operation, i always tell him if it wasn’t for him setting up the shop id still be making them but they wouldn’t be going anywhere. and thank you for giving me this interview.

Make sure to check out everything Zombie Head at: www.zombie-head.com

Their latest Halloween line is a great extension and festive addition to their line, and fits right in with the usual Crywolf style. Crywolf is also celebrating Halloween by having a sale! Almost all shirts are at least $5 or more off, also if you use the coupon code IATT you will receive an additional 15% off your purchase!

Even if your not looking for a Halloween Tee, you definitely should check out their entire line. That being said, I have always felt that their Womens/Girls line has always been a bit stronger than their guys line. Yes it’s true that a lot of the designs are available for both guys and girls, I just feel the overall vibe of Crywolf lends itself a bit more to the female crowd.

www.crywolfclothing.com

Favorite Girls Piece:
Spider Tank: On sale for $16.00 CAD

Favorite Guys Piece:
Zombie Logo Zip Up: On sale for $50.00 CAD

The launch of SHRED is textbook how to get a line off to a great start. First off the artwork is incredible and more importantly the screen print of the artwork is off the charts!!! As you can see these designs are HUGE, and sometimes when you get such a huge screen print it can feel like you are wearing a big piece of plastic on the front of your shirt. This is definitely not the case with the SHRED line. The screen print is soft and blends well with the shirt, resulting in an extremely comfortable and wearable piece of art. The quality of the shirt is also spot on, using American Apparel which is quickly becoming industry standard.

If you are looking to launch a brand definitely take some notes here. If you are looking for a few more summer t-shirts get out the credit card its time to order. The only thing that SHRED can improve upon to really take it over the top is the packaging. I am sure we will see this in the near future. This line is definitely for fans of Electric Zombie, Rockett, Zombie Licorice and fans of IRON MAIDEN!

A Couple Questions with Jon Kruse

Short Company Bio:
I threw around the idea of creating a badass clothing line along the lines of Rockett and Electric Zombie back in December and decided to pursue it along with a few others a couple months later. We just launched the store along with our sister website shrednews.com, which is going to have articles about the music scene. I am really proud of everything we have done so far and am excited for the future. We are sponsoring bands and are going to be at all the major concerts in the following year.

Tee Shirt material/Printing process:
All of our shirts are printed on American Apparel, which are the finest shirts I have worn. Everything is screen printed by the guys at Storenvy and they have done an amazing job. The prints are super soft and the colors turned out amazing. You really need to see these close up to appreciate them.

Where can we purchase this shirt?
You can get them on our site shredclothing.com or at the IAMTHETREND STORE

For the record, what is your name and what do you do for Malus?
I am Jason Mageau and I am the founder/owner of Malus.

So when and how did you decide to start a clothing line?

Around 2005 or 2006 I was doing a lot of art for bands like As I Lay Dying, Pennywise, and Bedlight for Blue Eyes to name a few. I eventually landed some design gigs for a few printers who bought or licensed art to retailers. I watched how a few of the designs I created begin to generate money for everyone else but me. I thought screw selling art for 125 dollars, I want it all! Eventually I made a deal with the printer to provide some pieces of art for free in exchange for small runs of my designs. In a nutshell that’s how it got started.

What do you feel separates Malus from the rest of your competition?

Malus is different in a few ways. Our name isn’t something that “sounds cool” or is meaningless. MALUS has a definition and substance, which is great to stand for something. I also feel we have grown organically unlike some start-ups who come out in your face and with cash to spend because daddy gave them a loan. We produce great garments because I have learned what works and what doesn’t due to the growing pains and the time it has naturally taken us to evolve. I am proud to have made mistakes though. I look at it as education rather than a mistake, you know?

You guys sponsor a lot of bands. Who was the first band that you had sponsored? Did you approach them or did they come to you?

We first worked with As I Lay Dying. Pretty big band to start out with, but we are great friends and Tim Lambesis has shown me as much equal support and respect as I have shown for the band. He first wore one of our shirts back in 07 on the cover of AP’s Warped Tour edition and I nearly had a heart attack. From there it went on to in studio performances on Fuel & Fuse TV to being all around supportive of the brand. We have a great friendship and I would do just about anything for those guys.

At what point did you really feel like Malus was taking off?

I pretty much could not believe I was pitching Malus to about 8 of Hot Topic’s head buyers and vice president! At that point it was when I realized all the struggle and hard work pays off if you keep at it. By no means am I satisfied though…I still have goals to accomplish.

Where would you like to see Malus grow to be in the next few years?
Right now we are gaining a lot of interest from the International markets like Germany, UK, Asia etc. I would love to see the brand become a worldwide brand one day. I really want to move into other product categories like cut & sew products, shoes, or even home decor.

Do you have any advice for people looking to start their own line?
Well there are so many good artists out there right now, I feel like they should all have something of their own. It is hard, but with sites like Emptees.com it is a little bit easier to get art if you lack that talent. Another site like Bigcartel.com can provide a hub to sell from. If you have some money saved or make deals with print shops and have some decent marketing, you may have a shot.

Like I said before you guys seem to be heavily tied into the music scene. Any upcoming bands that we should know about?
I would say Destruction Of A Rose. I try to push them a lot, they actually recorded with Tim from As I Lay Dying and I think they are going to do great in the metal scene.

What are some of your favorite websites?
I really like Mashable, Smashing Magazine, What Would Tyler Durdan Do, Emptees. I also tend to check out a lot of artists personal blogs/sites as I find it is interesting to see what motivates them. How can I avoid stating the obvious here Iamthetrend DUH!

Where can our readers pick up Malus gear?
You may find some left over stock on HotTopic.com but go to www.buymalus.com and use the store locator. It is being updated daily so you can find a place that way, or simply email us through the site we will point you in the right direction, unless you are lazy you can buy it directly from our web store.

Any last shout outs or things you would like to add?
Stop by the Malus Tent on Warped Tour June 26th in Pomona CA, June 28th in Ventura CA and the last two stops on the tour in San Diego CA & Carson CA to get a limited edition poster signed by Escape The Fate, buy some shirts and hang out.